ACN, CPC to merge in June, says Buhari

The much anticipated merger of leading opposition parties, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), will be finalised in June, General Muhammadu Buhari has said. Gen. Buhari, who is the National Leader of the CPC, spoke in Abuja yesterday during the inauguration of the 18-man committee on the merger. The committee is chaired by the former Deputy Governor of Bauchi State , Alhaji Garba Gadi.

The former head of state, blaming the nation’s woes on inept leadership, said the only way to stave off the drift is for the opposition parties to unite with the sole aim of winning the 2015 general elections. Noting that the merger has become imperative, Gen. Buhari said unity of the people, unity of political parties and unity of the opposition was no longer an option.
He disclosed that the first phase of the merger – and not alliance – is between CPC and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) . The All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and others will join later. What Nigerians want, Gen. Buhari said, is a merger of opposition parties to dislodge the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 presidential election. Asked if he will still run, he said he may contest, if the new party offers him the ticket.